Mexican Plane Crash Linked To Bomb Blasts

April 10, 1986|By United Press International.

MEXICO CITY — Mexicana Airlines pilots said Wednesday there is evidence that the crash of a Mexicana jet that killed 166 people last week was caused by two bomb blasts--possibly planted as part of an insurance scam.

The pilots said airline officials will present evidence on Thursday that shows two bombs exploded 40 seconds apart and blew away the tail section of the Boeing 727 over the rugged Sierra Madre range. The evidence will be detailed during a meeting with airline employees.

The pilots, who were interviewed at Benito Juarez International Airport in Mexico City and spoke on the condition that they not be identified, said the bombing was probably part of an insurance fraud scam.

They said Mexican authorities were waiting to see who came forward to claim additional insurance purchase for one of the flight`s passengers.

The Mexicana Airlines Boeing 727 was carrying 166 passengers and crew when it crashed in central Mexico March 31 a few minutes after takeoff from Mexico City. The plane was bound for Puerto Vallarta and Los Angeles. The crash toll was the highest in Mexican history.

Earlier Wednesday, Thomas Ashwood, first vice president of the International Air Line Pilots Association, told ``The CBS Morning News`` that inspection of the plane`s wreckage by Mexican officials indicated a cargo door was blown off. He said he had learned from the Mexican pilots` association that there was other evidence of an explosion inside the plane.

``I got information from colleagues in Mexico that had been investigating what we thought was an accident until today,`` Ashwood said from London.

``They said forensic examination of the wreckage indicates that the cargo door was blown off and a forensic examination of other parts of the wreckage also consists with an explosion inside the aircraft.

``Indications are very strong that airplane was forced down as a result of an explosion and probably a bomb on board the aircraft,`` he said. ``These are the early indications, I would stress, but they seem to be fairly positive.``